Nothing Is Forever: The Search for the Dead Stone
by Ceara Ivory
Summary: Life in the Neitherworld is turned upside down the day Lydia Deetz turns 18. Turns out she is a special girl, chosen to locate the long lost Dead Stone which vanished 1000 Years ago. With the residual power of the stone fading, Lydia must find the item NO
1. Prologue

-1Nothing Is Forever: The Search for the Dead Stone

Written by Chibikan

AN: TITLE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN BEETLEJUICE

THANKS TO: My Imoutochan for being my beta

Prologue:

"Happy Birthday Dear Lydia, Happy Birthday to you." sang her mom and dad and friends as the candlelight danced on the words Happy 18th Birthday.

"Come on Lydia, make a wish!" Bertha urged her friend.

Lydia blew out the candles, with only one wish in mind. She was eighteen years old, and all she wanted to do right now was run up to her mirror and say those words that would take her to the place where she best belonged. She wanted to share her birthday, and a piece of cake with her best friend. But her parents and only two LIVING friends had planned a small party for her while she was out running errands that her parents had made her go on just to keep her out of the house since she got off school for the day. So, she couldn't exactly abandon them for her bedroom/Neitherworld. That would be rude. And it was nice of them to throw her this little party. She wondered what HE had planned for her birthday. Briefly she wondered if he would see her differently, no longer as a child but as a woman.

Finally, the cake was all but gone, her presents had been opened, and her friends had to go home. Swiping one last piece of the chocolaty confection, Lydia thanked her parents and hurried up the stairs and into her room. She grabbed a brush and raked it through her hair and applied a little make up. Finally, she was all ready to go and began her chant. 

"Though I know I should be wary, still I venture someplace scary. Ghostly haunting I turn loose, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!" She cried out. She vanished from her bedroom and on a long highway. Her clothes had changed, but not to what they normally were. Her red spider web poncho was now a halter top, very revealing by the way. And on her waist was a black, super-mini skirt. Her legs were accented by a pair of fishnet stockings and her shoes were simple, basic black tennis shoes. "Huh, that's weird. Deadly-vu, but weird." Lydia looked down the highway and saw the familiar neon lights of the Roadhouse. Now, why had she been dropped off so far from his place? She shrugged and simply began the walk down the path. She knocked on the door, but received no answer. "That's odd, I told him I'd be coming today. I wonder if he forgot and went out?" She thought. Lydia looked through the filthy windows as best she could, but all was dark. Finally, she simply put her hand on the doorknob and turned, it was unlocked. Lydia walked in. "Beetlejuice? Jacques? Guys? Anybody here?" she called. It was so dark. Since when did Beej keep it so dark in here? Even when he was out, Jacques or Ginger was usually here. But now, there appeared to be no one. "Guys?" She found a light switch and pulled on it. The lights came on instantly.

"SURPRISE!!!"

Lydia's eyes bugged out. She was surprised. There in front of her stood her friends, all of them, around a well piled table. Presents galore awaited and in the middle of it all was an enormous cake. And not a typical Neitherworld cake, with dead stuff or beetles, but an actual chocolate cake with chocolate icing with the words "Happy Birthday Babes" in red. Jacques and Ginger had excited smiles on their faces, and there was even Monster, Vince, Bea and Gnat, and there, with the biggest smile of all on his face, not wearing his normal black and white suit but a handsome maroon tuxedo and top hat, was Beetlejuice. Most surprising of all, he was clean! His hair was brushed and his teeth weren't even green, they were a clean white.

Her grin must have reached to the ceiling. Here she'd come, thinking she'd just be spending a quiet with him, bringing him a piece of cake. And here he'd gone through the trouble and time of planning a surprise party for her. And he'd even washed, he HATED bathing and yet he'd done it, for her. And inviting his parents and Monster, and even Prince Vince. Needless to say, he wasn't exactly on speaking terms with any of these, but he'd known that she'd want her other friends there too and had invited them for her. She fought back tears of joy, of gratitude.

"Hey Babes! Don't you like it?" Beetlejuice asked, surprised at the tears. Maybe she didn't. Maybe this was a mistake.

She shook her head fervently. "No Beej, it's wonderful. Thank you." She threw her arms around him. He was such a great friend. "I love it." She pulled away from him and was pleased to see that his yellowish eyes appeared to be glowing with happiness.

"See, Be-atlejuice, I sold you, she would love eet." Jacques said to the poltergeist.

Lydia gave Jacques a friendly hug. "Jacques, it's good to see you. Thank you all."

"Hey don't thank us, it was all Beetlejuice's idea, Lydia." Ginger told her. "And I even made up a new dance just for the occasion." She began doing her little tap dance routine.

"It was a pleasure to be here for your birthday, Lydia. It is always a pleasure to see you." Vince kissed her hand. "And, if I may say so, you are most beautiful this evening."

Lydia curtsied, remembering he was a prince. "Why thank, Your Lowness."

"Miss. Lydiuh!" exclaimed Monster-From-Across-The-Street, as he swept her into a great big hug, being careful not to crush her. "Happy Birthday!" His dog, Poopsie, yipped in agreement.

"Thank you, Monster." When she was released, she bent down and patted Poopsie on the head gently.

"Should we do ze gifts first?" asked Jacques. "Zen, we have enough room to cut ze cake."

The skeleton made sense and soon Lydia found herself being ushered to Beetlejuice's favorite chair. Usually, if they did anything like this for her, which was not common, BJ's gift always had to come first. But this time, he waited patiently (quite uncharacteristic of him) as her lap became piled with all sorts of neat and interesting gifts from the Shocking Mall. Lydia was pleased with them all, but then, Beetlejuice stood in front of her, holding out one last gift, his. A fine velvet box, rectangular shaped. She took it, dumbfounded. Since when did Beetlejuice buy such extravagant things? She opened the box and there, in a layer of cushion, was a locket of solid gold. A simple oval with some sort of rune etched into it. She could only gasp and look at her friend in shocked delight.

"Beetlejuice, it's….beautiful…" She pulled it from the cushion.

"It was nothing Babes, I just found it in my attic this week, and I thought…all I really did was get it a chain that would fit you and…" For the first time in the many years she had known him, Beetlejuice fumbled for words. "It's really nothing special…..it won't even open…." He blushed big time.

She undid the clasp and put it around her neck and kissed his cheek gently, in a friendly manner, or so he thought. "I love it!" She looked into his yellow eyes and he into her midnight blue ones.

The mood ended when a tremor shook the roadhouse violently. She was thrown off her feet and back into the chair, and Beej on top of her. They weren't the only ones knocked off their feet as the tremor ended as suddenly as it came.

"You okay, Lyds?" Beetlejuice asked her.

"Yeah, but what was that?" Lydia asked. She looked over at Prince Vince, as prince he should know, and he looked pale, even worse than usual which was difficult as he was dead. She then noticed that all around them, everyone seemed a bit more on edge. Something was up. "Prince Vince?"

The Prince gestured out the window, at where the three moons should be side by side. One was missing, and it's place a dust storm seemed to reign. "It's…it's begun…." he stammered fearfully.

AN: What's begun? Stay with me, and you'll find out. Oh, I really dislike the title of this. So I am holding a contest. EMAIL ONLY!!! NOT REVIEW!!! Email me your ideas for titles. I will accept title ideas up until next Saturday night. The winner will have his/her title idea be the title for the fiction. I will only accept submissions that are emailed or pm-ed. If it is in the review itself, it will be disregarded and barred from entry. I will not run the risk of being accused of having an interactive fiction. So emailed or pm-ed submissions will be considered.


	2. To the Shrine

-1Chapter One: To the Shrine

Lydia got up and went over to Vince. "What's begun?" She kept her gaze on the two remaining moons.

Vince trembled, "The….The Neitherworld….is f…f…falling apart!"

"Falling apart!" Beetlejuice shrieked. "You mean like this?" He changed himself into a jigsaw puzzle and broke into one thousand pieces.

The Prince nodded, his usual storm cloud coming back. "Precisely, you see, almost a thousand years ago, there was a stone, this stone had great power and only through it was our world able to exist. But, something happened and the stone, it disappeared, vanished without a trace. Luckily, it's power was so great that it left behind a residue that was enough to sustain our world for the last millennium, but now…the power is fading. If the stone is not found, and soon, the Neitherworld will cease to exist."

"What?! Why didn't anyone try to find it before now?" Lydia asked.

"We've tried. We've looked everywhere, it's simply vanished. No clues, nothing to even leave a suggestion as to it's whereabouts." Prince Vince told her. "I've known for the last three hundred years, since I took the throne." Well, that certainly explained his melancholy mood.

Lydia thought aloud, "And you're saying that without it, everything will disappear. Everything?" She looked at Beetlejuice with worry in her eyes. "NO! I won't let that happen!"

Vince looked up at her, sadness in his eyes, but also a hopeful glimmer, "I was hoping that you would say that dear Lydia. Because, according to a prophecy delivered eighteen years ago, we were told that around this time, a young mortal female would come to save us."

"Wait a minute, are you saying Lyds has to…" Beetlejuice started. The thought of his Babes going through that awful danger was even worse than the idea of Sand Worms in his house.

Bea stepped up. "We were so happy when you brought her to meet us so long ago son. It was a sign of hope."

Lydia realized something, "You mean, the reason you are all always so nice to me is because you wanted me to save you?" She couldn't help but hope that maybe they were nice because they liked her, really liked her. "Is that why you wanted to marry me, Prince Vince?"

"Sacre bleu, non ma ami." Jacques stepped forward. "Oui, that was ze reason when we first met vous, but vous were so kind and loving, it is hard for anyone to not like vous. Vous are our friend."

"Yeah, Lydia. I mean, we're hoping you'll be willing to do this for us, but even if you don't want to, we're still your friends." Ginger added. Ginger was always painfully honest.

Lydia looked at Beetlejuice. He was the only one not asking her to do this, the only one who never expected this of her. All he ever expected was one thing, her friendship. But if she didn't do this, she'd lose him and the rest of them forever. She'd be stuck in the boring old living world, and she'd never see Beetlejuice again, not even when she died one day far away. The very idea was truly scarier than any monster she'd ever seen, a true nightmare. Surely, the reality would be even worse, how could she possibly survive. "What must I do?"

Vince grinned, the rain cloud dissipating. "Dear Lydia, the key lies deep in the Neitherwoods. Come, I will take you there." he turned to lead the way, catching Beetlejuice's glare and gulping. He just knew he was going to bring down the ghoul's wrath for this. Lydia would indeed be in great danger and Beetlejuice was very protective of her.

Deep in the Neitherwoods…

A large alabaster shrine seemed to glow with an ethereal light. An otherworldly music floated out of the doors, beckoning them inside.

"What is this place?" Lydia asked.

Beetlejuice crossed his arms. "Search me, I've never even heard of it."

Vince sighed, "This is the shrine to the first princess of the Neitherworld. This is where she lives now." He led them into the shrine and into a well-kempt throne room. The walls were pure white and sleeping in veil of quartz was a beautiful woman. She didn't appear dead, no, she appeared very alive. Her skin was a living pink and her blonde hair accented her curves quite well in her long white gown. "Princess Aenea, I have brought the one who will save us from eternal destruction. Please wake."

AN: Shorter than the prologue but, there will be more soon. I promise. Remember the title contest. Contest closes on next Saturday evening. Remember to EMAIL or PM only. My email is chibikan380 hotmail . com if you need it. Oh, and on my deviant art account, I have a bunch of pictures for this new story. Please, check them out at chibikan . deviantart . com without the spaces though.

NEXT CHAPTER: The Princess' Aid


	3. Princess Aenea

Chapter 2: Princess Aenea

A flash of light answered Prince Vince's call. "The chosen one has arrived." said a soft, sweet voice. When they could see again, there in front of them was a small ball, a bubble almost. In the bubble was a smaller version of the sleeping princess. She looked directly at Lydia.

"You are that one Lydia."

Lydia jumped. "How…you…how do you know my name?"

The princess smiled gently, "I know much about you, dear child."

Vince explained, "Princess Aenea owned the Dead Stone before it vanished. When it did, she was imprisoned in the crystal shell."

"I've waited so long to be free, to be among my people once more," the Princess' eyes seemed to plead with Lydia. "When I am free, I can save them. But to be free, I need…"

"The Dead Stone," Beetlejuice interjected. "And you want Lyds to get it for ya."

Aenea nodded, "The stone can only be found by a mortal female and returned to the true ruler of the Neitherworld."

"Well, you can forget it! I'm not about to let Lyds go on such a dangerous…..a fool's errand!" Beetlejuice was angry. "How dare you expect her to put her life at risk, for you!"

Beetlejuice's friends and family backed up. They had only seen him this angry once, several years ago when the Mayor had refused to pay him his fee. And now, he appeared to be ever angrier.

But Lydia, though this anger scared her, wasn't about to let Beetlejuice continue his tirade, "Beetlejuice, it's okay, I want to help."

He whirled on her, "No! You have no idea what she's asking you to do!"

Prince Vince agreed, "Yes, Lydia, you have no idea what could happen. You need to think this through. If you fail, it will mean your own death. And with the Dead Stone gone, if the Neither World vanishes, so will you, if you die. You could return to your own world, forget about us. We were wrong to ask you to do this, wrong to expect it of you."

Lydia was mad that Beetlejuice would deny her the opportunity to help her friends, "I don't need to think this through! If I don't do anything, you'll all fade away anyway, and I'll never see any of you again!"

"No, Lydia," Beetlejuice protested again, "I won't let you!"

Her mouth fell open, "You won't LET me! Who do you think you are? My father?!"

"It's not right of them to want you to do this! You're just a child!" he concluded.

A silence fell as the word "child" sank in. Lydia lowered her head, "Fine, Beetlejuice, if that's the way you feel, maybe… maybe, you shouldn't come!"

Beetlejuice gasped at Lydia's words. She seemed angry with him. Why? "Lydia…"

Lydia ignored him and looked at the princess. "What must I do?"

Aenea smiled knowingly, "Dear child, in each of the four corners of the Neitherwoods; North, South, East and West; is a crystal. The Water Crystal, the Earth Crystal, the Wind Crystal, and the Fire Crystal. When these are each brought to the center point of the Neitherwoods, this shrine, the location of the Dead Stone will appear, with the proof of an undying bond as it's password."

Only Beetlejuice noticed that she was leaving out why that made it so that only a LIVING person could find it. But, he didn't want to make Lydia any angrier than she was already. He'd wait until a better time. He didn't trust this princess.

The princess continued, "But, the crystals are very particular. One person can only hold one crystal, and once he holds it, it is the only one he will ever be able to hold. For this reason, you will need to choose four companions, companions that you would trust with even your own afterlife, if you were dead of course." she chuckled lightly, a sound that grated on Beetlejuice's nerves. This woman was talking about putting his best friend in grave danger, and SHE was laughing about it.

Jacques stepped forward, "Lydia, eet would be my pleasure to be of service to you on zis perilous quest."

"I'll come too," Ginger volunteered, "After all, I'm very fast and I am a spider, I can use my thread."

"Why, if Miss. Lydi-uh is gonna do this for us, I'll go with her. She'll need a rootin' tootin' hairy monster to protect her!" Monster stated valiantly.

Lydia was ready to cry. They were all such wonderful friends indeed. Only one was needed to complete the set. She looked at Beetlejuice. "So Beetlejuice, can you understand why I'm doing this and come with us?"

Beetlejuice glowered at the princess, "Of course I understand why you're doing it! I just don't understand why this princess says you're the only one who can. You're my best friend Lydia. Can you understand why I don't want you to do this?" he begged her with his eyes to please understand.

Lydia sighed, "Yeah, I guess." she hugged him gently.

Princess Aenea cleared her throat, "If you have chosen your companions then, I have gifts for each of them." She waved her hand in front of her face and muttered some foreign words.

Jacques simple blue muscle shirt and shorts transformed into shiny blue body-armor, "Sacre bleu,"

"This armor will increase your strength ten fold," she explained and she waved her hands towards Ginger, whose tap shoes became golden gym shoes. "These shoes will allow you to run five times as fast as you do now." Then over Monster she cast her spell. At first nothing appeared to have changed until they looked at his rope. It had become a sage green, and it appeared thicker. "Your rope will now never miss and will never break and will allow you to move any obstacle in your path. And finally, Mr. Beetlejuice," A sword of ruby appeared above him. The center of the sword seemed to blaze. "This sword will cut through anything." She looked over each of them. "I must warn each of you. With the instability of the Neitherworld, none are immortal any longer. And if you die this time, there is no coming back as a ghost or ghoul or monster. You will simply cease to exist. Do you understand?" All four of them nodded affirmatively. "Then go, brave warriors and chosen. Go forth and complete your quest."

"Thank you, Princess, for helping us as best you can." Lydia stated, turning to lead them out.

Prince Vince bowed to the princess before snapping his fingers. He'd forgotten something very important. "Thank you, fair one, but I have something I must give to Miss. Lydia. Pardon me."

None of them noticed a smirk alight Aenea's visage, "No, chosen one, thank you."

AN: Sorry for the delay in updates. I forgot to mention something, this fiction is a sort of mixture of both Magical Knights of Rayearth and Sailor Moon. Except now, most of the heroes are male while only two of them are female. If that last part is making a little wary of Princess Aenea then I commend your judgment of character.


End file.
